Awaken the Lost
by Neko-Li
Summary: Trust has never come easily to the Ronin Warriors. And with a new enemy wielding the power to harness and control people’s very souls, the Ronins must learn to recognize true evil… and true hearts. ON HIATUS
1. Evil Returns

**Awaken the Lost**  
For the Ronin Warriors, things seemed to have calmed down since Talpa was defeated. Life is quiet. Peaceful... But in the shadows some new evil has been quietly, stealthily gathering power. A new foe, with dark dreams of destuction and revenge. A dark force that corrupts and twists what good comes near it.  
"Nothing is ever quiet, except for fools." _-Cry The Beloved Country_  
  
_In case anyone is wondering why this looks familiar, I finally decided to rewrite this old fic. The idea was there, but at least in the early chapters, the writing skill wasn't. ^_^ Hope you like it!  
~Li-Cat~_   
  
**O N E:: Evil Returns**  
Ryo leaned back and pelted the ball to Sage, who caught it neatly. Yuli jumped up in down in great agitation. "Throw it here, Sage! Over here! I'm open! I'm open!" 

Grinning, Sage tossed the ball gently in the younger boy's direction. "There you go, Yuli." With a yelp of glee, Yuli held the ball up triumphantly. 

"Careful, Sage," Kento teased good-naturedly. Sage rolled his eyes, while the other Ronin Warriors grinned. "You wouldn't want to hurt yourself. Throw it to me, Yuli, I'll show you how it's done." 

"Sure, Kento!" Yuli called, happy to be included. He pitched it in his direction. In a flash of fur, White Blaze neatly intercepted the pass, then turned holding the ball in his mouth and seemed to grin insolently at Kento. Everyone else broke into laughter. 

"Hey, No fair!" Kento grumbled. "Stupid tig- Oof!" Kento was suddenly knocked off his feet. Picking himself up, he wheeled on the young man who had run into me. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" 

"Pardon me, I didn't see you," the blond youth excused himself, without stopping. 

Kento, still suffering from a bruised ego stepped in front of him. "What do you mean you didn't see me? I was right in front of you!" 

"Kento..." Rowen warned uneasily. 

The man's golden-brown eyes flashed with sudden anger. "Are you accusing me of lying?" 

"If you're blind, please excuse me," Kento jeered sarcastically, his initial anger beginning to fade, but still refusing to back down. 

Both of them glared at each other for a tense moment before Rowen and Ryo stepped smoothly between them. Cye rested a hand on his friend's arm. "You'll have to forgive him, he doesn't mean half the things he says," Mia said, with a stern glance at Kento. 

The blond youth looked at Kento an instant longer, shrugged, and left. Sage watched the young man oddly as he walked off. "There's something strange about him." 

"There's something moronic about him," Kento muttered darkly. 

"Aw, lighten up, Kento," Ryo said. 

"Yeah!" Cye piped up, "Sitting in the dirt suits you!" There was another round of laughter, as the group watched Kento chase Cye around the park. 

Rowen suddenly blinked and held out his hand. "Is that rain?" On cue, a full-fledged downpour started. 

Ryo groaned. "Take cover! …somewhere," he trailed off, looking around. 

"There's a parking garage over there," Cye suggested placidly, not at all put out by the increasing wetness of his clothes. 

"Let's go!" Yuli cried, taking off running with all the impetuosity of his age. The others didn't argue his judgment. One by one they filtered into the shelter of the covered garage, and stood in a slightly bedraggled group, dripping on the cement. White Blaze shook a miniature shower of rainwater from his coat, growling his disgust. 

"So what do we do now?" Mia asked. 

"We wait until it stops," Sage answered philosophically, already settling himself down against a wall. The momentary silence that followed his remark seemed shattered by the overloud resonance of a footstep in the cavern-like parking garage. 

Yuli wrapped his arms around White Blaze's big neck, hiding his face in the tiger's fur. Sage got back to his feet. 

"Who's there?" Ryo's voice echoed emptily in the air. Another step sounded. "Show yourself!" 

"Well, I'm getting the willies," Kento murmured. "Probably just a dog." 

It was a strange glimmering in the light that caught Sage's attention. Slowly he pointed. "Who are you?" Half-hidden by more than shadows was a figure clad in preternaturally black armor. The dim light that touched it seemed to quaver before disappearing into the infinite darkness of the metal. 

The figure finally spoke, its voice cool and clear. " I am a servant of the glorious Tenebras, ruler of the netherealm." 

"Aw, man!" Kento groaned. "How many times do we have to kick some psychopathic would-be rulers butt? Can't they be a little more creative?" 

"For those words, you will pay dearly," the figure said, a sneer touching the threat. 

Cye blinked. Something in the voice... "It's a girl!" Cye exclaimed suddenly, startled. He stared a while, eyes large, then looked around helplessly. "Should I be surprised by this?" 

The female fighter ignored him disdainfully. She raised a glittering sword to point at Ryo. "Ryo of Wildfire, leader of the Ronin Warriors, will you surrender to my Lord, and swear fealty?" The voice turned oddly cold. "Do realize that this fate is far better then that which awaits you down any alternate path. Far better." 

Ryo felt a chill creep down his spine, triggered both by the strange tone of her words and the amount this new enemy obviously knew about them. He reached within himself to touch the core of fire that blazed there. "We serve no master," he said fiercely. "That's why we're called the Ronin Warriors." 

The dark soldier made a contemptuous noise. Green eyes, only half visible through a curving faceplate, hardened. "You have sealed your fates for no purpose. You will serve Tenebras anyway. And you will be the first!" In an instant, she wheeled on Kento, arcing her sword through the air and bringing it slashing down to point at him. "Darkness annihilation!" At her words miniature lightnings and crackles of glowing red energy leapt from her sword tip, striking Kento on the chest. He cried out in pain as he flickered with electricity for a moment before it seemed to disappear within him. He staggered, then fell to his knees. "Kento!" Cye cried in distress. "That's it, lady, I'm kicking your ass! Armor of the Torrent- Tao Shin!" Around him the other Ronin Warriors also summoned the power of their armors. The black warrior, surrounded and outnumbered, placed her sword against Kento's throat. 

"I could break his very soul," she said with cold malice, not daring to move. The Ronins likewise stood frozen, forming a surreal tableau of the razor-edge of battle. Kento glared up at the armored woman who held him hostage and felt a sudden shock as green eyes met his with an emotion that was both foreign and unreadable. Cye tensed his grip on his yari as Rowen started to sway in the direction of the enemy's back. White Blaze filled the air with an angry rumble. 

"Stop." A second figure appeared, clad in deep violet armor. The helmet was removed, revealing a head of tousled blonde hair and disturbingly brown eyes. Kento let out a gasp of recognition. 

"It's the boy from the park," Mia said. Kento chose that instant to swing his leg forwards, kicking the black-armored woman's legs out from under her. She flipped backwards and landed unsteadily on her feet, quickly regaining her balance. As quickly, Kento stumbled out of her reach, and stood defiantly among his friends, any signs of pain banished from his face. 

Cye seized the opportunity, raising his yari with an angry cry: "Super Wave Smasher!" The dark warrior threw herself to one side, even as the blonde youth threw himself into Cye. In the resulting struggle Cye's yari was sent skidding across the pavement, while the stranger was finally separated from Cye. 

The violet-armored one stood warily, brandishing a black handled trident with three golden prongs, a cross-blade, and the far end chiseled to a wicked point. "I won't let you hurt her." 

"Why, does your master forbid it?" Rowen sneered, "If you serve Tenebras we've no reason to spare you!" He raised his bow, sighting along its golden arch. "I won't ask you again to step aside." When the young man still didn't move, Rowen drew back his bowstring, and energy started to gather around his arrow's tip. 

The peculiar trident suddenly rose, and the youth's eyes flashed, as it seemed to move of its own accord to aim its center spike at Rowen. "Chimera banishment!" Three blue-green beams of solid energy shot forwards, impacting solidly with Rowen's chest; two more lanced from the side blades, driving Cye against the garage wall, and slicing across Sage's arm. Kento pushed Yuli and Mia to the ground, and Ryo moved towards the fallen and still Rowen as White Blaze dove towards the two offenders with an angry growl. The woman glared a final message of malice at the Ronins, before stepping back and disappearing into the shadows as completely as if she had never been present. White Blaze was stopped in mid leap by a tap of the trident on his nose. The great tiger twisted aside, landing short of his prey, and stood looking at the armored man in startled silence. By the time the initial confusion had died down, there was no trace remained of either of the two armored enemies. 

Mia assisted Sage to his feet, applying pressure to the injury on his arm which would hopefully develop into no more than a bad bruise. Kento and Yuli helped a somewhat bemused Cye to sit up, but Rowen lay still. Ryo bent over his friend, shaking him gently. "Come on, Rowen, you're can't let a little bump like that get you," he pleaded, with an attempt at lightness in his voice. Quietly, subdued, the others gathered slowly around. 

Sage touched Ryo's shoulder, and Mia reached out to grasp Rowen's hand. "C'mon, mate," Cye breathed. 

Rowen winced, and his eyes cracked open. "Would you please stop shaking me? I feel like a stampede of elephants just trampled me." A crooked smile touched his face, and everyone let out their breath. 

Kento grinned, folding his arms. "I'll see if I can't arrange that sometime for your educational benefit." 

"I think you scared him," Cye commented, conspiratorially. 

"I think I scared me," Rowen retorted. "Can we go home so I can go back to sleep? It's giving me a neck cramp looking at all of you like this." 


	2. The Trident

**T W O:: The Trident**  


"I swear, if one more of those annoying car commercials come on, I'm going to snap." Rowen tossed a sofa pillow across the room at the TV, wincing only slightly as he moved. 

"Ooh, a psychotic Rowen- I can just see the headlines." Cye grinned, striking a pose. "Teenage boy goes berserk- nine car dealerships a smoking rubble." 

"Who says I'll stop at nine?" Rowen grumbled. "I figure I could take out at least twenty before they call in the reserves." He smiled then, and pushed himself up to a sitting position on the couch. "How's Mia doing?" 

Cye rolled his eyes. "Still locked in with her computer." 

"She hasn't come out yet? It's been two days!" 

"She says she 'hasn't found all the information she wants' yet. Don't worry, Sage and Ryo have been forcing meals down her every six hours. How 'bout you? You feeling better?" 

"Who, me?" Rowen smiled with ironic arrogance. "I could run the Indy-500, no sweat." 

"Oh, good. Then we can address the little matter of all the chores you've been skipping," Cye smirked. 

Rowen immediately flung himself prostrate on the couch again. "I feel a sudden relapse coming on. I may linger on the brink of death for months." 

"Should I take out an insurance policy?" Kento commented, entering the room. "Then I could get one of those new Fords they're advertising on TV…" He ducked, as another sofa-pillow projectile hurtled across the room. 

"Beware the wrath of the invalid," Rowen commented dryly. "Could someone bring me a pillow? I seem to have run out." 

"There's a surprise." Sage picked up a pillow as he walked in, followed by Ryo, and passed it to Rowen. "Every time I come in here they seem to have mysteriously scattered about the room." 

"It's not _my_ fault," Rowen said with assumed innocence, pointing at Kento and Cye. "They're picking on me 'cause I'm sick." He ducked laughing behind his pillow as Kento and Cye tried to tackle him. "See what I mean?" 

"Well. Excuse me, I seem to have wandered into the local zoo. Have you seen five would-be warriors?" Mia stood in the doorway, eyes gleaming with hidden amusement, as the scene before her froze, and five faces turned towards her in surprise. 

"Mia!" Rowen cleared his throat, and sat up on the couch, making room for Cye and Kento to take seats. "So- umm… glad to see you're out and about. Find what you wanted?" 

Mia made a face. "I found about all I'm going to get. Not near as much as I'd like." With a sigh, she sat down in a chair, and adjusted the papers she was holding. 

Sage switched off the TV, and he and Ryo also found seats. "So what _did_ you find?" 

"Well, it all goes back to the forging of the armors. Long ago, the clan of the Ancient One forged nine armors, each linked to a facet of the human character. Somehow, they fell into Talpa's hands, and he was able to use these links to his advantage, by merging them into one armor. It's not all that different from the way Ryo creates the Inferno armor." Mia shuffled through the papers as she spoke. "But we pretty much knew all this, and how the Ancient One shattered Talpa's armor, and each armor bonded itself to a single human soul which best embodied the quality it represented. What we didn't know was the reason the Ancient One was able to split Talpa's armor. 

"You see," she continued, "if the armor had been complete, it would have been impossible for any force in the universe to ever divide the armors again, just as it would be impossible to divide a human soul. No one knew that the Ancient's clan had not completed their work when Talpa began his first reign of terror. Now here-" Mia indicated a place on her paper, "- it mentions two armors forged from a single piece; and over here there's a reference to the 'forgotten parts of the soul.' And it says something- that 'work left unfinished will finish itself.'" Mia stopped, shaking her head. The frustration of a dead end after two days work was apparent. "That's it. I can't decode any of the other information. It's all gibberish." 

"Well that's not very helpf-" Kento broke off as an elbow from Rowen doubled him over. 

"It's more than we had before," Ryo put in. "Thanks, Mia. We appreciate all your help." 

Mia smiled wanly. "Yeah. Well, you're welcome to it. I do what I can." The doorbell rang. "That'll be-" she started, but was cut off by a loud smashing noise that jerked everyone in the room to their feet. Moments later, a hysterically laughing Yuli rode in on an equally exuberant White Blaze, glad to see his small playmate. Mia left the room for a few minutes, and returned with a carefully controlled expression on her face. The Ronins glanced at each other. 

"So the doorbell-?" 

"Was Yuli," she answered. 

"And the smashing noise-?" 

"White Blaze letting him in." 

Yuli looked up long enough to smile guiltily at Mia. "Sorry about your door, Mia." 

She held her expression for a moment longer, and then started laughing, and shrugged. "Oh, well. I thought we should let a little more light into the entry hall anyway." 

"But it's nighttime," a smooth voice put in. The woman of the black armor entered the room, flanked by four soldiers. Each wore a simplified black armor tunic and helmet, devoid of any insignia or marking, and a long sword. Their faces were each different, and one looked younger than the rest, but their eyes… each were a blank, darkened red, like dried blood. "It's nighttime," the woman continued, "And only the dark will enter." The face plate on her helmet was drawn up, to reveal an eerily pretty face, pale as moonlight. Glittering green, her eyes shone like cold fires. 

"What do you want?" Ryo asked, calling up his subarmor in preparation. 

"My lord Tenebras has commanded that I retrieve the Jewel of Life. It is in your possession, is it not?" 

Yuli, who was uncomfortably aware of the lump underneath his shirt, shrunk ever so slightly behind White Blaze, who was eyeing the stranger, hackles raised, and a snarl on his lips. 

The female warrior, perhaps attracted by the movement, turned calmly to the young boy, emerald gaze keenly perceptive. "A child. But none are spared by the Red Death." She spoke to all of them, but her eyes remained focused on Yuli. "I suggest you give me what I look for, and avoid a great deal of suffering." 

Glancing at Ryo, the Ronin Warriors summoned their armors, and a sudden blaze of energy filled the room. Crossing his twin datchis in front of him Ryo faced the woman. "Even if we had such a thing, we would never surrender it to the likes of you!" 

Several things happened at once. The soldiers, who had stood like inanimate dolls behind the woman since she entered the room, flickered suddenly to life, and moved with brutal swiftness to attack the Ronins. Rowen, still recovering, found himself hard-pressed to fight off the flashing sword in front of him. Cye guarded his back, but was equally distracted by his own soldier to fight. Sage cut a third soldier off on its path to Mia, blocking blow for blow with his own fearsome blade. Ryo, aided by a snarling White Blaze, drove another soldier away from Yuli. 

Kento found himself facing the glittering sword of the black warrior, and he grinned a challenge at her, his eyes bright with battle-fire. Her face betrayed no emotion as she flicked her sword tip in his direction. Kento felt himself lashed with indescribable pain from within, and he dropped his weapon as red sparks danced before his eyes. Crying out, screaming, he sank to his knees, battling wave after wave of pain. 

"Kento!" Cye cried, "Hang on, mate!" lunging forwards, he managed to catch a glancing blow to the soldier he was fighting, knocking the man's helmet flying. With a quick movement, he blacked another sword strike, and then caught him in the forehead with the butt off his spear, dropping him. 

Rowen employed a more blunt method. Entangling the soldier's sword in his bow, he wrenched it from his grip, then struck him solidly in the gut. Sage and Ryo both managed to disarm and subdue their opponents only seconds later. They turned as one towards their friend, and froze. 

Kento was suddenly quiet, but torment could be seen on his face. The woman, staring coldly at him, made a quiet noise, which could have been a laugh or a sigh. Sage took a step, and the woman made a tiny motion with her sword. Kento doubled over again, rocked by pain. 

"How is she doing that?" Ryo cried helplessly. 

"It's that- energy she put into him before," Mia guessed, her voice quiet with powerlessness. 

"Correct." The woman's eyes seemed abruptly dark, and there was a quiet irony in her voice as she spoke. "The Red Death of Tenebras has a peculiar effect. It dwells in the body, and can be called upon to eat away at the very soul. Thus, all falls to my Lord, eventually." 

"Not- quite- all…" a harsh voice grated. Kento put a shaky hand on the ground to steady himself, rising into a crouch to regard the dark warrior with defiance. 

The woman looked past him as if he did not exist. "If your friend wants save himself from futile pain and suffering, he will surrender himself early- while he can still pick up the fragments of his soul." 

"I will _never_-!" 

The protest was cut short as the silver sword moved a fraction. As Kento cried out, another voice joined his. 

"Sayuri!" 

Every head turned. "You again!" Cye exclaimed, recognizing the indigo armor of the young man from the park. 

"I wondered when the rest of you goonies would come crawling around," Rowen sneered readying his bow. 

As the Ronins turned angrily to confront this new enemy, and Kento struggled painfully to catch his breath, Mia was the only one who noticed the way the black-armored woman had frozen. 

The newcomer ignored them all, fixing his attention on the startled green eyes that stared out of the ebony face mask. "Sayuri... please speak to me." 

The woman stood transfixed for an instant longer. When she spoke it was with cool detachment. "Sayuri is gone. This body is the vessel of Tenebras now." 

Rowen looked from the blond youth to the back of the woman, both focused on each other. He looked at Kento. _I've had enough of this._ Silently he took aim, and fired. "Arrow Shock Wave!" His arrow flew unerringly towards the dark figure that was its target. 

"No!" A streak of black and gold rose to meet the projectile, and even as the woman turned in alarm, arrow and trident clattered to the ground at her feet. 

"He- blocked it?" Rowen gaped in dismay. 

"Only fools throw their weapons away." The cold voice broke into the surprise of the group. The woman leaned down, and her hand closed around the trident. Abruptly her body arced and spasmed as if a current had run through it. Something gleamed on the young man's forehead, growing in brightness until the kanji was visible. _Honor._

A symbol glowed on Ryo's forehead. _Virtue._ One by one the others lit up. _Life. Wisdom. Trust. Justice._ The Ronin's eyes widened as another symbol appeared shining vividly even through the black faceplate that should have concealed it. _Compassion._

The woman's startled expression mirrored that of the Ronins. With an angry growl she raised the trident to cast it away. The whole room seemed to flicker and tremble. Before anyone could respond, or even catch a breath, a ray of white light lanced from the trident, into Kento. It hovered in the air between them, humming with tension. Crackles of red energy licked across it flowing steadily along the length of the white beam- out of Kento and into the trident. 

As the current of crimson lightning trickled to an end, the beam faded. Kento blinked and stood up, looking only a few shades too pale. "Huh?" 

The young man called again to the dark fighter. "Sayuri, please, come with me! Please stop this, Sayuri." 

The woman stared at him for an instant with conflicted emerald eyes, something dark and light warring within them. Then her face turned towards the trident, which she still brandished above her head, pulsing now, with scarlet energy. Her demeanor hardened, turning icy cold again. "Those who defy Tenebras… cannot suceed!" In a blaze of movement, she launched the crackling trident at him. 

Dodging smoothly to the side, the armored youth reached out and snatched his weapon out of the air, flinching as the 'Red Death' fled the trident for his body. He wavered slightly, but remained standing. "I ask again, Sayuri…" 

"Don't use that name!" Control shattered, the dark warrior swung her sword in a wide circle. "Sayuri is dead! And so will you be!" She slashed the silver blade down to point at him. "Darkness Annihilation!" 

A surge of blood-red lightning shot through the air. The young man stood his ground, crying out only as the bulk of the attack hit him. He staggered, and struggled to face her. "-Kill me maybe-" he rasped with difficulty, "-but should know- by know- you- can't- turn me!" 

"It's time for me to go now," the woman snarled. She raised her sword and the figures of her unconscious guards darkened. "But sleep lightly." The forms of the woman and guards turned to inky black shadow, and faded away. 

The young man swayed, then slumped to the floor, his armor disappearing as he fell.   


~*~*~  
_A/N: So, what do you think? I'm pretty attatched to this storyline, but if no one reviews I'll probably just work on other things. It's amazing what a little response does for one's motivation! ^_~  
*Li-Cat* _


	3. The Truth

**T H R E E:: The Truth**  


Ryo rain a hand through his black hair and slumped into a chair, letting out his breath in a rush of air. "Well, he seems to be doing better now. Though to tell the truth, I don't know whether that's a good thing, or a bad thing." 

The Ronins were gathered in Mia's living room, in the ubiquitous scene of discussing-the-ramifications-of-previous-fights-and-contemplating-the-future that always pops up after events of this nature. Rowen leaned forwards, his usually good-natured features set into a grim frown. "He tried to kill me. I think we can safely scratch him off the 'good guy' list." 

"Yeah, but he saved _me_," Kento exclaimed. "And even if he was a jerk in the park-" ("-Which he wasn't-" Mia inserted) "-he didn't exactly fall into the 'Ronins, I shall slay thee' role either. Why not go after us then?" 

"He didn't know yet?" Cye speculated. "Or he was waiting for his lady friend- enemy. Whatever." 

Mia stared into the distance, remembering. "There was something very odd between those two. Something- sad. " 

"You've been pretty quiet. What do you think, Sage?" Ryo asked. He had learned to rely on his friend's insights- as often products of a discerning mind as of a tie to the Armor of Halo. 

Sage tipped his head back. "I don't think he has a side- I think he's involved in this for his own, personal reasons. So far he has attacked only in defense of himself, or of the other fighter- Sayuri. And I agree with Mia- that woman is the key to this mystery." 

"Truly spoken." As one, the Ronins turned to discover the source of the tired voice supporting himself against the door frame. The blond young man managed half a smile as they all got to their feet. "I think you'll find that's not necessary. I have neither the desire nor the energy to attack. And… I believe I owe you all an explanation." 

"You might say that," Rowen muttered darkly. 

The young man looked over at him, his blue eyes intense. "And you an apology as well." He bowed formally. "I am deeply sorry to have involved you, and for the harm I caused you." 

Rowen shifted awkwardly, perturbed by the apparent sincerity of the man's words. Mia took the opportunity to pull a chair over for the still convalescing stranger, who was beginning to sway slightly. He took a seat gratefully. 

"My thanks. I won't expect you to condone the choices I have made- but, perhaps you will- understand." He hesitated, searching their faces." My name is Isuri Yoanoke. The woman who attacked you is Sayuri Yoanoke. My twin sister." 

A ripple of surprise went through the Ronins, and Isuri paused again. 

"… the two armors forged from a single piece," Mia murmured. 

Isuri turned his piercing gaze on her. "Yes- that is correct. Sayuri and I are of a part." His gaze unfocused slightly, and he seemed to settle back into the mode of his tale. "We were raised by one of the last remaining members of the clan of the Ancient One, a man named Clestine. As long as we could remember, the Dynasty had been after us, for the powers we did not yet know we had. Clestine told us they had slain our parents in their first attempt to take us. That was when he found us. Our childhood we spent in hiding, always running. Clestine taught us, and cheered us- but he was growing old. Eventually the Dyansty cornered us." 

.....................

_The blades gleamed around them like the fangs of a great beast, set to devour them as soon as the energy wall collapsed. Clestine's white robe showed red in the moonlight, and he leaned heavily on his staff. His gentle voice was rough with pain and exhaustion. _

"We won't leave you!" His sister, face pale and taut with fear, standing her ground. Green eyes blazed with helpless fury. 

Heart trembling, he clenched his fists. "Clestine-sama, please hold on!" 

"It is already done. Sayuri, Isuri, go!" 

.....................

"When Clestine was killed, we ran alone." Isuri fell silent a moment. "Soon after we began to discover the powers of our armors. Mine, the Armor of Truth, and Sayuri's, the Armor of Empathy. There was no one to teach us or guide us; we learned to depend on each other. Whenever the forces of dark found us we fought them side by side. Sayuri fought them for vengeance, but I fought because I didn't want to run anymore." 

He looked around at them. "We knew a little about you then. We knew you existed, and when you defeated Talpa. But-that wasn't the end. Another enemy sought us out now, and this time we decided to make a stand." Isuri pressed his fist into his forehead, brow creased. 

"Tenebras. That was the lord's name. He set a trap for us, lured deep within the nether realm when we thought we were winning. We were fools! We'd never even seen him, knew nothing about him, and we thought we could defeat him so easily. We… I-" Isuri broke off, his face tight with pain. 

"You don't have to tell this," Mia said softly. 

"No! I do. You have to understand." Isuri took an uncertain breath, and look straight ahead, his eyes burning into nothing. "Tenebras had a new weapon-one that gave him enough power to finally conquer the nether realm. It was called the Red Death, but the effect was worse than death. It entered the body, and dwelt there. At will, Tenebras could call upon it to attack the victims' very souls, and render them his slaves." 

Understanding lit in Kento's eyes. 

"Tenebras' armed his soldiers with it. The pain of the Red Death's first striking is bad enough, but we had no idea the danger we were in until… it was too late. Far too late." 

.....................

_His trident swung. The last soldier fell. Sayuri leaned on her knees, catching her breath. Her feral grin glinted up at him. They were going to make it! _

At the corridor's end, a figure appeared. Black shadows clung and obscured all details. One hand raised, and a soft chuckle echoed about them. 

Pain! 

He moaned, curled up, body twisting. The pain ebbed; he looked for his sister, made out a small crumpled form. 

"Isu… Isuri!" Her eyes were fire. She staggered to her feet, lunged down the hallway trying to reach the back-shadow figure. The hand moved. 

Pain struck again. 

Agony. Minutes, hours, seconds. He couldn't tell. Distantly, he heard his sister screaming. Heard another voice, too, as he tried to reach her. His voice. His pain. His world. Something deep within whispered, Listen. Serve. Obey. 

And needling through all the sounds, laughter stabbed his ears. 

.....................

"My armor. Truth…" Isuri spoke very softly, almost to himself, but his words were clear in the silence. "To control, the Red Death forces victims to deceive themselves. Self-preservation. But my armor does not allow me to be deceived. I-_could not_ submit." His voice was sad… almost wistful. "I couldn't. But Sayuri… she had no choice. In the end, it turned her." He paused again, and when he continued spoke in a dull, empty voice. 

"Eventually, Tenebras left me for dead. I _was_ almost dead, more dead then alive at that point. But despite its name, its power, its pain- the Red Death cannot kill of itself. A spark of life remained in me, enough to force me to drag myself out of sight, then to water and food, then to safety, of as kind. As I healed, awareness returned. 

He met their eyes suddenly, looking around fiercely as if daring them to contradict his words. "I don't know how to defeat Tenebras or reverse the Red Death's effects. But Sayuri is my sister. I will get her back, or die. Until then I won't allow anyone to hurt her." 

His blue eyes fell; his voice faltered and grew quiet. "And- I will do my best to keep her from hurting anyone else." His whole body slumped, as tears shone in his eyes, but did not fall. "Saya would never forgive herself." 

~*~*~*~*~*  
_A/N: Sorry, short chapter! But I wanted to get SOMETHING up. I been halfway through chapters on about 6 different stories for months. I'll write more soon! _^_^   
-Li Cat 


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